I Spread Joy!

I didn’t feel good this morning.  I am at the age where some parts of my body wake up slower than others.  My knees have been giving me more trouble than usual.  I am delaying knee replacements until Amazon delivers them in a simple do it yourself kit.  I certainly didn’t feel like going to the gym today.  The holiday break from working out was making it difficult to get back in the routine.  I knew I needed to go.  The average American gains 11 pounds during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holiday.  I am proud to say that I am a little below average on that note but I needed to get back on track.  I joined the gym in February and lost 26 pounds in 4 months.  Since then I have gained 6 so I decided to go even when my body wanted to get back in bed. 

I had a good hard work out.  When I went to my car afterward I noticed it was not where I remembered leaving it.  I smiled at myself for being forgetful and went to the next row where I thought I saw my car and that car was black.  Mine is blue.  Had someone stolen my car while I was inside?  I joke with some of the folks I have come to know at the gym telling them that I know it’s time to quit when I go to get a paper towel to wipe down the machine and by the time I return I can’t remember which one I just used.  This must have been a really hard work out since I couldn’t remember where I parked my car.  It was really time to go home…if I could find my car.  I kept circling and looking when I decided to try the fail-safe way to locate a lost car…hit the alarm button on the remote (as a matter of pride you should only do this when no one is looking). 

I heard the horn, located my car and quickly turned off the alarm hoping no one noticed.  Too late!  I heard the following to my right, “You over here hon, next to me!  We came in at the same time!”  I looked and now remembered the lady who was parked next to me when I arrived.  I had seen her at the gym before, always smiling and very friendly.  She approached and I tried to joke about being lost in the parking lot but she quickly relieved my embarrassment with her smile and positive attitude.  She proudly proclaimed, “I spread joy!”  She moved so quickly and naturally into her story that one could tell she had a lot of practice in sharing her reason to spread joy.  Her name is Gloria.  She had a miraculous story of her discovery, surgery and complete recovery from cancer.  That experience led her to know that she was here for a reason…to spread joy.  She had succeeded in making my day more joyful with her smile and positive attitude as well as her story. 

I thanked her and said, “Now I want to share the story of my miracle.”  I began telling her of my experience in 2001 where a kidney stone led to the discovery of three aneurysms and a rare renal artery disease.  That led to two lifesaving major surgeries.  I won’t go into all the particulars here since I wrote a more detailed account in a previous blog (if interested look in the archives under February 21, 2011 for a blog entitled ‘Ten Years Later’).  My doctor told my wife that this was the type of situation usually discovered in the autopsy where you hear about someone who appeared young and healthy but died suddenly and unexpectedly.  He told me that God obviously was not finished with what he wanted me to do here in this life.  Afterwards I would wake up each morning and the 25 inch scar around my 31 inch waist would serve as my reminder that this day of life was a gift from God and I was to be mindful of making the most of it. 

However, I must confess, that was over 17 years ago and I had begun to once again take life and the blessings of God for granted.  As I have gotten older I have notice a growing sadness.  Seeing parents and loved ones decline and pass away has taken a toll on me.  Often as the minister who is called upon to comfort, attend and preside over sickness, tragedy and funerals I wasn’t able to express my feelings and grief as did others.  I have always tried to be upbeat but that had become more difficult for me recently as I had begun focusing on my increasing aches and pains and a growing sense of melancholy.  I found myself missing the joy of today as I longed for days gone by…until I lost my car and found Gloria.  She quickly reminded me that every day of life was a gift.  She shared her story of her miracle victory over cancer and reminded me that I had a miracle story to share as well.  After she heard my story she wanted to give me a hug.  She didn’t care that before sharing our stories we were strangers from different ethnic groups.  She saw me as she saw everyone else, as a fellow child of God with whom she could spread joy. 

Whether you think you don’t have a miraculous life-saving story to share or not, you have been given life and breath today.  That is a miracle!  The fact that you woke to life today is a sure sign that God has a purpose for you.  If you are wondering about your purpose take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16.  It makes it pretty simple, “Rejoice always”!  So no matter what is going on or has gone on in your life, if you have been given breath for today (I assume that you are still breathing if you are still reading this) you have a purpose for the day.  God did not give you breath today to find fault, gripe or focus on yourself.  Gloria understood and got it when she told me that she realized she had been given the gift of life today for a reason; “I spread joy!”   I don’t know about you but I needed that today.   

Everyone Matters

Many people include reading through the Bible as a New Year’s resolution.  They have good intentions and get off to a good start.  The Genesis story is quite compelling, however, they begin to lose steam when they get into the genealogies.  I admit I once had trouble with all the ‘begats’.  I found it hard to get inspiration from ‘so-in-so begat so-in-so’.  Then I would remember 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells me that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”  So if all scripture is inspired and useful to teach, correct and train us in righteousness so we may be proficient and equipped for every good work then the begats must be worth more attention. 

The book of Matthew begins with a genealogy.  Matthew was written primarily for an original Jewish audience.  Genealogy was very important to the Hebrew people.   Matthew took this into consideration but he also raised a few pious Jewish eyebrows when he included women (it was clearly a man’s world at that time) and he really caused a stir including a woman of questionable reputation in verses 4 & 5 of chapter 1 verses 4 & 5; “Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab…”  Whoa, why would any noble Hebrew want a prostitute (Joshua 2:1) out front in the important names of family history? 

Before I answer that let’s go back and see the beauty of how and why God led the writer of Matthew and other authors of scripture to give messages ‘between the lines’ to encourage us to mine jewels from Bible study.  So before we look at Rahab let’s look at her father-in-law, Nahshon.  Even those who grew up diligently reading the Bible are not usually that familiar with Nahshon.  However, he was a key leader for the Hebrew people.  According to Jewish rabbinical literature, he was the person who initiated the Hebrews' passage through the Red Sea, by walking in head-deep until the sea parted.  Even if that account troubles you, hang on and I think you might agree that when God parted the waters Nahshon was more than likely the first one to take a step of faith and lead the Israelites into the path surrounded by walls of water.  I know you weren’t told that history would be included so don’t get bored this is important and may be on the test at the end. 

Nahshon was the brother-in-law of Aaron (remember Aaron was Moses’s brother and the first priest of the descendants of Israel set free from Egyptian slavery…oh yeah, those guys).  Reading through the boring genealogies Numbers and Leviticus you find Nahshon as the leader of the tribe of Judah.  Family history was vital for the Hebrew people for many reasons.  As the descendants of Israel were organized for their journey from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land they traveled, ate, slept and camped in columns organized in military fashion comprised of their tribes.  Each tribe had a leader who would lead the column with their tribal banner.  With apologies to Cecil B. DeMille Moses did not lead nearly 3 million people across the wilderness like Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates led herds of cattle in Rawhide (I watched a lot of movies and TV as a child).  The whole thing was very organized.  Seeing God so organized is comforting to an OCD neat freak like me but I digress.  Nahshon was the leader of the largest group, the number of the tribe of Judah was 74,600.  They were the central and largest column who led the way and Nahshon was at the front of the pack.  Can you imagine the responsibility of leading that many people?  He had to get up especially early on travel days.  I used to get frustrated getting ready for a vacation trip and I led a family of four!

When it came time to give an offering in Numbers 7 who do you think went first?  The offering was public (aren’t you glad only the church treasurer knows the amount you give…and they’re not supposed to tell).  Nahshon set a high standard with a huge offering.  I won’t list it here but check it out in Numbers 7:12-17 as you visualize him bringing all this to the altar be glad all you have to do is put an envelope in a passing offering plate.  Each tribal leader followed in the public offering with the same amount.  No one gave less than the standard set by the leader.  A good leader sets a strong positive example for others to follow.  

My wife would tell me that I am now getting long-winded in my story because Nahshon is not my primary focus but I wanted you to see why Nahshon is viewed as primary example of leadership in Jewish history and why the next person is especially significant.

This is where the story gets good as we see a departure in normal Jewish geology as an outsider and a woman is listed.  Nahshon’s son married a woman named Rahab.  She is a little more familiar from our Sunday School lessons as a key figure in the Israelite pilgrimage.  Her story of protecting spies sent to Jericho is found in Joshua 2–6.  Even my childhood conservative Sunday School teacher, who was my pastor’s wife, told us Rahab was a harlot.  I later learned that meant she was a prostitute…goodness!   

Here is the point (FINALLY)!  Rahab is included in the beginning of the first Gospel of Jesus Christ.  She is not judged as immoral, as many churches and ‘Christians’ would do today.  Even as the daughter-in-law of someone who was considered Jewish royalty, most people would keep her in the background due to her shady past.  God does not push people into the shadows.  He elevated her status, as He seeks to do with all of us, and celebrated her spiritual insight, courage and wisdom as she reached out to protect spies sent to Jericho.  She is forever honored for her huge act of courage, spiritual wisdom and faith.   So as Ross Perot was fond of saying; “Here’s the deal”!  There are no insignificant or forgotten people in God’s eyes.  There are hundreds of seemingly trivial names listed in the Bible, far mor than those whom most of us could easily identify as a category on a game show such as Adam, Eve, Noah, Moses, David, Paul, etc.  However each of the countless number of names listed in scripture is someone known, important and dear to God. 

So if the genealogies that are not inspiring to your daily devotionals mean nothing else to you remember THERE ARE NO INSIGNIFICANT OR FORGOTTEN PEOPLE IN GOD’S EYES! I hope you get my point.  And if each person is important to God they should be treated accordingly by us.  Try to look at each person you encounter as does your creator.  Don’t be too quick to judge someone as an outcast by their reputation (like Rahab) as the world does.   When we are not so quick to judge some aspect of behavior but begin looking for the qualities of the heart and spirit of each person we meet, as does God, we may be surprised to find some hidden treasures in people we would normally overlook.  

Heavenly Father, let us be thankful that everyone is important to you and help us see others as you see them!